Does a candidate's physical attractiveness influence your vote?

A Toronto blogger hopes an online beauty contest will galvanize voters in the upcoming Ontario provincial election.

Zach Bussey is creator of "Ontario's Sexiest Election Candidate," which presents a bracket of 32 female and 32 male candidates in the election, with readers online voting for who they think is the most attractive.

The contest hopes to introduce Ontarians to all their candidates in a fun and easy-to-understand way. "I think it's a good first step for somebody who has no previous interest. It's all there - here are the candidates, their ridings," Bussey told CTV News.
(photo: http://swingcatproductions.com)

Each of the daily polls includes the names and ridings of the candidates, as well as links to their own websites to learn more about them and their election platforms.

"I don't want it to be taken seriously in the sense that 'this is how you should vote,'" Bussey said. "I give people more credit than that. But I do want it to be taken seriously in the sense that if you're going to vote here, get out and vote on October 6."

A post on YWCA Toronto's blog argues the site "degrades politics and political candidates."

"With so much on the line, we need Ontarians to be interrogating candidates' qualifications for the job, not how hot they are," the post continues.
    
Does a candidate's physical attractiveness influence your vote? Is the Sexiest Election Candidate website a good way to get voters involved? Let us know in the comments below.



(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)